A Stolen Romance - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Ambush

Inside Prince Yu’s tent, his black mood finally lifted after hearing his chief guard assure him that the plan was foolproof.

After the man left, he ordered his confidant to pour him a drink and proudly explained his perfect plan.

The idea had come to him the moment Shi Yuning refused his invitation and said she was going with the Crown Princess.

His men would pretend to be assassins and attack the Crown Princess. Regardless of whether they managed to kill Xie Zhaoran, he would appear at just the right moment to save Shi Yuning.

Then, carrying her back to the hunting grounds, in front of a crowd of witnesses, not only would he have saved her life, but they would have had physical contact.

With this, what reason would the Shi family have to refuse the marriage?

And if he could get rid of Xie Zhaoran in the process, it would be a double blessing.

Prince Yu drank a celebratory cup and ordered his confidant to get him a dazzling outfit. He wanted to appear before Shi Yuning like a god descending from the heavens.

He wanted her to see for herself how magnificent the man who saved her was.

…

Cangxia Mountain was right next to the hunting grounds. If one didn’t fancy hunting in the field, they could go into the mountains, though this required higher skill in both riding and archery.

Most of the noble ladies in the capital couldn’t ride or shoot well, so they all gathered in the main grounds, and the men who admired them naturally followed.

Compared to the hunting grounds, Cangxia Mountain felt much more quiet and desolate.

Xie Zhaoran used the excuse that a large group would startle the prey, so she told her attendants to wait at the base of the mountain and only she and Shi Yuning went up.

Shi Yuning’s entire attention was on A-lí. She watched the horse walk steadily through the mountains, leaping lightly over every ditch and ridge.

It was a truly magnificent steed, living up to its reputation.

“You seem to have some skill, Miss Shi. May I ask who your master was?”

Xie Zhaoran’s horse was half a horse’s length behind Shi Yuning. She had originally intended to watch over her, but she noticed that Shi Yuning seemed to have some martial skill and didn’t need her protection.

She hadn’t heard that the Shi family had hired a martial arts master for Shi Yuning.

Shi Yuning giggled when she heard Xie Zhaoran’s question. She reined in her horse, making A-lí slow down to walk side by side with Xie Zhaoran.

The road was wide enough for them to ride next to each other. As Xie Zhaoran approached, Shi Yuning began to tell her about her past.

“It all started when I was little,” Shi Yuning said, smiling as she recounted her memories.

When Shi Yuning was a child, her father ran a private school in their village. Although their village wasn’t poor, not many families could afford to send their children to school.

It wasn’t that her father’s tuition was expensive, but rather that the paper, ink, brushes, and books cost a lot of money. As a result, her father had very few students. Their family didn’t starve, but it was all thanks to the financial support of her mother’s family.

Shi Yuning’s father felt he couldn’t keep relying on them, so when the kids were home helping with farm work, he would go to the teahouse in town to tell stories.

He always took Shi Yuning with him.

As a child, Shi Yuning listened to stories about chivalrous heroes roaming the land, robbing the rich to give to the poor, and fighting for justice. She became determined to become a great heroine and make a name for herself.

Later, their family finally had some savings. Shi Yuning’s mother went through a lot of connections and finally convinced a rich man in the county to let Shi Yuning study alongside his daughter.

The lady tutor the rich man hired not only taught them reading and writing but also needlework and the principles of being a good wife and mother. Her mother believed that if Shi Yuning learned these things, she would surely find a good family to marry into.

When Shi Yuning heard this, she refused to do it, but she couldn’t convince her mother.

However, her father saw how much she disliked it and asked her what she really wanted to learn.

Shi Yuning immediately said she wanted to learn martial arts to protect her parents in the future.

Shi Yuning didn’t know if her words had touched her father, but he ended up helping her to deceive her mother and secretly practice martial arts. He pretended to take her to school every day, but he was actually taking her to a martial arts hall.

To make sure her mother didn’t find out, she studied reading and writing with her father. They managed to fool her for five years before her mother finally discovered the truth.

Xie Zhaoran found the story very entertaining. She had never expected that even as a child, Shi Yuning knew exactly what she wanted and what she didn’t.

And that her father would support her in such an unconventional act.

“What happened next? Did your mother find out?” Xie Zhaoran asked curiously.

Shi Yuning pouted, making a pitiful face, and held up two fingers, a distance of about three fingers.

“A rattan cane this thick… my mother whipped me more than twenty times.”

Xie Zhaoran watched her expressive face, as if she were being whipped again. “That sounds pretty bad.”

Shi Yuning winked playfully. “Not for me. My dad had it worse. He was whipped more than fifty times, and he even cried.”

Xie Zhaoran’s eyes widened in surprise.

Shi Yuning probably realized she was telling an embarrassing story about her father and quickly changed the subject.

“The Crown Prince asking me to protect you… he really chose the right person. Although my skills aren’t the best, I’m still much better than the other young ladies in the capital. So if there’s any danger, don’t worry, Crown Princess, I will definitely protect you.”

Xie Zhaoran gave a soft laugh when she heard this and nodded, saying seriously, “Alright. I’m afraid we won’t have to wait for later. I need your protection right now.”

Shi Yuning raised her eyebrows, tilting her head as if to ask what she meant.

Deep in the woods, at the top of a thick, leafy tree, a masked man in black whispered to his companion, “Damn, they’ve found us.”

The other man nodded, a bit anxious. “We’ve been exposed. Which one is Miss Shi? They’re both wearing white and pink, I can’t tell the difference.”

“You idiot! You can’t tell by their clothes, but you can’t tell by their mounts? Haven’t you heard of that rare warhorse? That’s the Crown Princess’s horse. The other one must be Miss Shi.”

The commotion of their conversation startled some birds in the woods. Shi Yuning looked around warily. From Xie Zhaoran’s words, it seemed they were in danger now.

But she couldn’t see where the danger was. Just as she was about to ask Xie Zhaoran, there was a rustling sound, and along with the falling leaves came a group of masked men in black!

Shi Yuning: ! Am I some kind of jinx? Where were all these people hiding?

Xie Zhaoran was much calmer than she was. As if she were just making small talk, she asked, “Who sent you?”

The assassins were unprincipled. They didn’t announce their names but simply raised their swords and slashed at the two women.

“Be careful!” Shi Yuning spurred her horse forward, dealing with the assassin who had rushed toward them.

She wanted to go and protect Xie Zhaoran, but she found that only one or two assassins were going after her, while the majority were coming for Shi Yuning.

During the fight, Shi Yuning also noticed that the two assassins who were going after Xie Zhaoran were using the backs of their swords to feign an attack.

It was completely different for her. The bright, sharp blades were swinging at her with killing intent, aimed at her vital spots.

These people are actually here for me, Shi Yuning thought, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. What’s so special about me to warrant this many assassins? I don’t have any enemies. She figured it must be a revenge plot against the Shi family.

But why attack me? I hate it when innocent people get caught in the middle of these things.

She fought hard, fending off one man, and shouted loudly to Xie Zhaoran, who was not far away. “You go first!” She didn’t want to get the innocent woman involved.

The group of men seemed to agree with her idea and were also trying to force Xie Zhaoran to retreat, pushing her toward a different path.

Xie Zhaoran watched all this with a solemn expression. She saw that Shi Yuning could hold her own, and then she glanced at A-lí, a slight sigh of relief escaping her lips.

She thought for a moment and then, as the assassins wanted, she retreated down a different path.

When she was on the smaller path, the assassins seemed to relax a little.

Xie Zhaoran let out a cold laugh. Now she understood. She had initially thought they were really here for Shi Yuning. Now she realized the assassins must have mistaken their targets.

The look in her eyes instantly turned cold, a swirling vortex that seemed to want to swallow every person in it.

Xie Zhaoran unslung the Cloud-Piercing Bow from her back, pulled the bowstring, and three red-fletched arrows, with unstoppable force, shot out at once.

With a series of ‘thwack’ sounds, one arrow for one assassin, the men fell before they could even clutch their necks.

Xie Zhaoran didn’t stop. A full quiver of arrows was emptied in an instant, and all the assassins fell to the ground like stalks of wheat that had just been cut.

Shi Yuning had already seen how amazing Xie Zhaoran’s archery was, but she was still speechless to see so many assassins dealt with in such a short amount of time.

She sincerely praised her from the bottom of her heart. “You are truly incredible.”

Xie Zhaoran’s stern expression suddenly softened, though her face showed nothing, the tips of her ears suddenly turned pink.

She made a random “Mm” sound and, flustered, looked down. She took a signal flare from inside her deerskin boot, lit it, and shot it into the sky.

After watching the light flash in the sky, Xie Zhaoran looked back at Shi Yuning, who was staring at her.

Her eyes were brighter than the signal flare in the sky as she continued to praise her. “You are really, really amazing! One arrow, one kill! That was so satisfying.”

Xie Zhaoran’s hand, which was holding the arrow, subconsciously bent. She was silent for a moment before finally speaking, her tone hesitant. “Do you… want to learn?”

Shi Yuning’s eyes widened in disbelief, and the light in them grew even brighter, sparkling radiantly.

“You’ll teach me?”

Xie Zhaoran nodded. “If you really want to learn—”

“I do! I really, really do!”

Before Xie Zhaoran could finish, Shi Yuning raised her hand. “I especially, especially want to learn!”

Xie Zhaoran smiled, a happy, unrestrained smile. “Alright, you said it.”

Shi Yuning nodded. She didn’t want to miss such a good opportunity. “When can we start?”

Xie Zhaoran looked at the pure, unadulterated adoration in Shi Yuning’s eyes. She thought for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Just as she was about to speak, she heard footsteps in the forest, and soon Qiangdi arrived with a group of people.

“There’s one who’s not dead yet. Take him for treatment and questioning,” Xie Zhaoran said, pointing to a man on the ground who seemed to have stopped breathing.

Qiangdi nodded and ordered her men to deal with it.

She then looked at Xie Zhaoran with concern. “Mistress, are you hurt?”

Xie Zhaoran suddenly understood the strange feeling in her heart. Shi Yuning, since the beginning, had not asked this question.

The look in her eyes was as if Xie Zhaoran were a god who was impervious to swords and arrows, and was afraid of nothing.

Xie Zhaoran turned her body. The hand holding the arrow paused, and without a moment’s thought, she used the tip of the arrow to slash her trousers near her thigh, continuing the cut all the way to her knee.

She quietly threw away the bloodied arrow before Shi Yuning could get closer.

Only when Shi Yuning was right next to her did she rein in her horse, turning slightly to expose the other side of her body.

“You’re hurt!” Shi Yuning gasped, looking at Xie Zhaoran’s bleeding leg. Her breathing became shaky. She hadn’t seen that Xie Zhaoran was injured, and so badly at that.

The ginger-white trousers were stained with fresh blood, which continued to seep down her leg. Soon, the entire pant leg was a crimson red.

Xie Zhaoran looked at Shi Yuning’s worried face, closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded pitifully.

“Mm, I’m hurt. My leg hurts a lot.”

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